Christmas Backpacks for Appalachia

Larry and I played Santa today!  Our church is collecting backpacks for the Christmas Backpacks for Appalachia project and we picked up a couple of backpacks last Sunday after the morning worship service.  We decided on a backpack for a girl and a boy, in the 5-9 year old age group.  

Today we went shopping!  We got socks, wash cloths, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, notebook paper, pencils, crayons, cans of Spaghetti-O's, cookies, lollipops, two of the sweetest little books about Jesus (the illustrations are adorable!), a small Bible and each child got four toys each.  We got the little boy a yo-yo, a Slinky, two Hot Wheel trucks and a Spider-Man doll.  The little girl is getting sidewalk chalk, a jump rope, a Go Fish card game and a Minnie Mouse doll.  

We had SO much fun picking out this stuff!

Here are the backpacks all packed.

We want to include some warm gloves and hats but since it's August and still hot as blue blazes outside, nobody in this town even has 'em out yet.  We're not going to give up, though!  We have a week before we have to turn them in, since we'll be out of town the Sunday morning they'll be officially collected.

This is such a wonderful thing to be a part of.  I watched the video on the Mission Georgia web site and I'm so happy we decided to do this.  I try every year to help make at least one child's Christmas a little brighter.  I had the most magical of Christmases growing up and I just can't stand the thought of a child going without on Christmas morning, although I know millions of children do.  

At least these two won't.

Poppie Fresh

I let another woman into my kitchen today.  Another short little fat woman who loves biscuits as much as I do.

Poppie Fresh!  AKA Mrs. Poppin Fresh AKA The Pillsbury Doughgirl.  

 

Ain't she so cute??

I had an original 1971 Mr. Poppin' Fresh when I was a little girl but he got vandalized by one of my uncles.  Mama replaced him years later.  The doughboy, not my uncle.  Larry and I were at Wilson's Bakery Saturday after we'd spent hours out yard and estate saleing.  Several hours spent going through other folks' stuff is sufficient grounds for fingernut cookies.  I'm just sayin'.  Wilson's is decorated in Pillsbury Doughboys.  Every. Where.  In every variety.  I told Larry while we were in line waiting to get our cookies that we should get our Poppin' Fresh a wife so he wouldn't be lonely anymore standing on our kitchen sink. 

I found her on eBay for $4 and I ordered her Sunday.  She arrived today.  From clean out in California!

Poppin' Fresh was SO happy to see her!  Look at that big smile!  

He's trying to hold her hand already.

Sunday Cake

Larry and I went to an extreme couponer's yard sale yesterday and let me tell you, she had some stuff!  I told her it looked like Mama June's stash!  She laughed, obviously proud.  She said she'd call me about a class she teaches about how to do it.  She told me she gets a STACK of Atlanta papers every Sunday with STACKS of coupons and she goes from store to store buying stuff.  I don't think so.  Ain't nobody got time for that!  I don't even like going to Kroger AND Target.  One-stop shopping.  That's what I like.

I admit I was a leeeetle overwhelmed so we just grabbed some necessities, like toilet paper and shampoo, that we were going to have to get anyway and Larry grabbed a 50 cent box of white cake mix.  

He wanted something pineapple-y and tart so this is what I did.  I threw together that box of white cake mix, substituting the egg whites, oil and water for whole eggs, butter and milk (I'm telling y'all, that makes a huge difference!  IF I HAVE to use a boxed mix, that's what I do!  And for this one, I used half whole milk and half buttermilk.)

After I threw that cake in the oven, I whipped up a pineapple-y tart icing.  Cool Whip, a block of cream cheese, a can of crushed pineapple (drained), a can of lemon pie filling, the juice of two lemons, a cup of powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a half cup of chopped walnuts and mixed all that up with my new-to-me yard sale mixer and I frosted that cake and this is how it turned out.

It is so good!  And lemony!  

And not bad at all for a 50 cent box of white cake mix.

International City Farmers' Market

 
I went by the farmers' market on my way home from work today.  We've only gone to a couple of places this summer, Mr. Sasnett's place on Highway 41, Smiley's up in Macon and we've picked up produce and bread and things at yard sales a few times.  I hadn't been to the big market here in Warner Robins all year and I was really excited!  But since it's 182 degrees in the shade this week, it was just too hot for me to enjoy my time there.  I grabbed a loaf of sourdough bread, a dozen fresh brown eggs and some peppers for Larry's omelets, bell, banana and jalapeno, and got the heck on up out of there.

I'm looking forward to going back when I can stay longer!  Maybe October.  :)

Tabbie Hoffman's New Addiction

Ami and Brian told us about a toy they thought we should get for Tabbie Hoffman so I thought I'd give it a try with him.  He doesn't play with anything except empty thread spools and drinking straws.  ALLLLLL those toys he has and he plays with that.  He's like a kid on Christmas morning playing with the box his toy came in.

We got it today and Tabbie Hoffman LOVED IT!!!  I am so happy!!!  Thanks for telling us about it, y'all!

It's called Senses Play Circuit and it's by Catit Design.
 
This is our cat taking complete leave of his senses.  :)

He finally just laid down, stuck his paw in the hole and waited for that ball.  That was SO funny!  He is SO smart!

I kept waiting for him to make the same face this kitten on the box did!  He so essited!!  I just crack up every time I look at it.

Sunday Cake

This week's Sunday Cake is in honor of the 45th anniversary of Woodstock.  Magic that happened August 15, 16 and 17, 1969 in a field in the Catskills.  I have always wished I had been there, been a part of those three days of peace and music.

So in honor of a little music festival that is still stardust, still golden, we made a tie-dyed cake today!

I used a box mix, exchanging the egg whites, oil and water for whole eggs, butter and milk. 

I separated the batter into six bowls and colored each batch a different color.
 

Larry and I added our artistic touches!  I did the peace signs and he did the writing.

 I frosted it with white icing and lots of sprinkles!

And there you have it!  Our tie-dyed Woodstock cake.  It is beautiful, delicious and absolutely groovy.

Birthday Cake!

Yesterday afternoon, we had a birthday party lunch for Mama and Daddy.  Daddy's birthday was the 11th and Mama's will be on the 30th.  Daddy's favorite cake is chocolate so I decided I'd make them a chocolate birthday cake!  I chose Ree's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. recipe but I changed it up a little and used two 9-inch round cake pans instead.  Then I placed it on my vintage Tupperware cake plate, just like the one Mama always had, and poured about a bazillion sprinkles on top.

By the way, I made up the delicious frosting and then I ate the whole bowl with a spoon so then I made another batch and frosted this cake.  I'm kidding!  It is ridiculously tasty and chocolatey fudgey, though!

Photography by Ami!

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
2 sticks Butter
1 cup Boiling Water
1/2 cup Buttermilk
2 whole Beaten Eggs
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla 
 
**************************************

FOR THE FROSTING:
1-3/4 stick Butter
4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoas
6 Tablespoons Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions
  
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.
Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.
In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into two round cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
While cake is baking, make the icing.  Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Stir together and pour over warm cake.
Cut into slices, eat and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate cake. Ever.

Our latest finds

We skipped our usual Saturday morning full of yard sales yesterday and went up to an estate sale in Barnesville that Brian told us about last week.  We always search for the ones around Warner Robins but this one was listed under Macon so we would've missed it.  Thanks, Brian!  We didn't get very much (everything was way overpriced!) but we enjoyed looking at the enormous collection of 50's and 60's items that this family had!  They had a house, a garage apartment and a stand-alone apartment slap full of stuff.

I was able to get the pair of hippie orange mugs that I wanted, though!  I couldn't believe they were still there.  The blue lamp that I wanted wasn't.  :(  I just love these mugs!  They were marked both for $6 but yesterday everything was 25% off so I got 'em for $4.50!

 I got both of these adorable little coffee mugs for $1.50!
 

Larry got all this military stuff at a church sale and a yard sale in Macon!  We go in search of anything vintage, really, but we focus on the two P's --- Pyrex and patches!  :)  Larry has collected hundreds of military patches in the past several months.  He had a collection of thousands once upon a time and we're just trying to get some of them back.  We've been really amazed at the stuff we're finding out there!  For cheap!!
 

I still have a bit of a problem with pretty pillowcases.  :)

I got this pillow case for $5 on eBay to cover our memory foam body pillow.  I think it's a perfect match for our new quilt!

My new old tea glass that cost me all of 75 cents at a church sale!

I just can't resist a coffee mug!  Especially one with daisies on it.

And I found this little beauty when I walked out in the backyard this morning.